4 Min Read
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey’s central bank held rates steady at 19% as expected on Thursday and dropped a pledge to tighten policy further if needed, in its first decision since President Tayyip Erdogan fired the hawkish former governor and sparked a market selloff.
FILE PHOTO: Turkey s Central Bank headquarters is seen in Ankara, Turkey in this January 24, 2014 file photo. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
In a statement, the bank also ditched last month’s pledge to “decisively” maintain a tight monetary policy “for an extended period” to address inflation, which has risen above 16% and been in double-digits for most of the last four years.
By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: A view shows the Central Bank building, in Beirut, Lebanon November 12, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
BEIRUT (Reuters) -Lebanon’s Central Bank called on the country’s caretaker government on Wednesday to urgently adopt a plan to limit spending on subsidies to protect remaining foreign currency reserves.
The bank said it had been forced to sell dollars in recent months to prevent inflation, which has already reached 84%, from spiralling as high as 275%, and the remaining reserves needed to be protected.
The comments echoed warnings from caretaker Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni, who said two weeks ago that Lebanon would run out of money to fund basic imports by the end of May and delays in reducing subsidies were costing $500 million a month.
6 Min Read
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey’s fourth central bank chief in less than two years will oversee his first policy decision on Thursday, after President Tayyip Erdogan rocked financial markets by firing a well-respected governor who had hiked rates just last month.
FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gives a statement after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Turkey, March 29, 2021. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/PPO/Handout via REUTERS
Erdogan replaced Naci Agbal, a policy hawk, with Sahap Kavcioglu, who has openly criticised Turkey’s tight monetary stance and who shares the president’s unorthodox view that high interest rates cause inflation.
The shock decision on March 20 raised expectations that the policy rate, now at 19%, would soon be cut and sent investors fleeing, knocking the lira 12% lower. For many analysts, Erdogan’s latest intervention has left the bank’s credibility in tatters.
Lebanon's Central Bank called on the country's caretaker government on Wednesday to urgently adopt a plan to limit spending on subsidies to protect remaining foreign currency reserves.